A fake smile can make a person feel happier.
A fake smile can make you happier
Scientists claim that putting on a false grin can cheer you up for "no actual reason" as it triggers a part of the brain and "creates a full-blown bodily response" which the organ interprets as feeling happy.
The boffins did concede that the results seen in the lab might not be replicated in the real world where plenty of things can happen that will alter a person's mood.
Nicholas Coles, a research scientist at Stanford University and lead author of the study, said: "This is like the difference between smiling while looking at a picture of a puppy and smiling while staring at a blank wall.
"It appeared that smiles could not only increase how happy you felt about the puppies but could also make you happy in an otherwise neutral context where you have no actual reason to feel happy."